


The Dark Nordics

by Dalasport



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Dark, Hetalia, Multi, Mystery, Nordics, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:02:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26116891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dalasport/pseuds/Dalasport
Summary: (Y/n) had been living with the Nordics for a while when one night they come home from a meeting, acting... strange.Her life is suddenly turned on its head as she has to figure out what happened to her chosen family and how to save it from falling apart.
Relationships: Denmark (Hetalia)/Reader, Finland (Hetalia)/Reader, Iceland (Hetalia)/Reader, Nordics (Hetalia) & Reader, Nordics (Hetalia)/Reader, Norway (Hetalia)/Reader, Sweden (Hetalia) & Reader
Comments: 17
Kudos: 33





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so this is a rewrite of an old story I had up on another site many many years ago.   
> I've cleaned it up a bit for your enjoyment!

The Nordics were known to be an interesting bunch. When all together, they looked and acted like a dysfunctional family. Their life hadn’t been the easiest, and like any nation, they had seen their share of the dark evils of the world. They hadn’t always stuck together in the past, some of them even waged wars with each other, but those things were normal in the world of nations. The fact that they remained a solid group was a feat of its own. 

(Y/n) almost didn’t believe her luck for having been accepted into their small but tight group. See, she was merely a human, having never heard of nationhood at the time of meeting them. Her short and seemingly insignificant life hadn’t been the easiest either, and after a hard confrontation with her parents, she had decided to leave the miserable household. Her siblings had watched quietly as she packed her bags and fled to the streets. 

It had been a total coincidence that she bumped into a kind gentleman in the park who saw her predicament and offered her a temporary solution. That gentleman later turned out to be the personification of Finland. 

Days turned into weeks, and before she knew it 6 months had passed, and she was still staying with the Nordics. She didn’t want to leave these wonderful people, and they didn’t make a single attempt at kicking her out. Life was finally good. 

One particular evening, (Y/n) sat in her favourite spot in the living room; the blue armchair by the fireplace, as she worked on finishing reading the newest instalment in her favourite book series. She was alone in the house, as the others had gone out to attend a meeting. The quiet that enveloped her was refreshing, as this house seemed constantly buzzing with noise. Denmark was a person easily bored, so he had developed a knack for attracting attention to himself, be it for good or for bad. Much to his chagrin, the others seemed to be experts at ignoring his shenanigans, so many times it drove him to make the ruckus more and more extreme in order to break down their resolves. As much as (Y/n) enjoyed watching him in his quests, she did welcome the quiet of an empty house. 

As the clock chimed 19:00, she glanced up from her book. The heavy clangs of the clock were something she still hadn't gotten used to. At first, it was placed on the second floor of the house, right in front of her bedroom and it had kept her up at night every time it struck a new hour. So Sweden moved it for her, down to the living room. She breathed out and closed her book. They would be arriving soon with dinner.

As if on cue, her stomach growled. She groaned and stood up, stretching to get the drowsiness out of her system. The fire in the fireplace snarked behind her as she made her way to the kitchen.

The house she now lived in was huge. It had three stories and each floor had many rooms. The architecture of the house was quite old and the decor reflected their Viking past. It had obviously been upgraded to fit the time, and each and every room had a unique style to it. 

As she stepped into the kitchen, (y/n) heard the front door slam against the wall. She rolled her eyes when she heard a familiar "Heyyy, we're hooome!" She turned around, a grin spread across her face as familiar arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her into a tight hug. She laughed out as Denmark teasingly squeezed her tighter.

Behind him stood the rest of the Nordics, blank looks on their faces as they watched the exchange. (Y/n) sent them a warm smile as she waved over Denmark’s shoulders.   
The Dane released his grip and (y/n) took the time to flatten out her T-shirt. "So,” she said, “what's for dinner? I’m starving and will take care of the cooking if needed. You guys must be tired." 

Norway walked forward and slung his arm over her shoulders, leading her to the living room. "It’s your favourite, you’ll love it."

She sat down on the couch, a little bit confused. "Oh, okay. Is it take-away, or will you cook?"

Norway sat to her right and Finland squished himself to her left. The other three stood standing, silently watching the three. (Y/n) hesitated, waiting for someone to speak up, but no one did. “Okay….” she said, awkwardly, “I’ll make something then.” She made an attempt to stand up but Finland grabbed her arm without a word and pulled her back down. 

“Okay, guys,” (Y/n) said, a bit alarmed, “what’s your deal? Did something happen?” 

Again, no one answered.

“I’m serious, you’re scaring me… Can someone please say something?!” 

Without warning, Iceland suddenly burst out laughing. He doubled over, holding his stomach as sounds of mirth escaped. The other Nordics all sent him glares of irritation. “Jeeez, louise!” he said between laughs. “You are too easy to fool.” 

(Y/n) sighed with relief, as she felt the tension leave her shoulders. 

“Way to go, Ice,” Norway muttered irritably. 

“Yeah, Ice,” Denmark scowled. “Way to go.” 

“I’m sorry, this was just too good,” Iceland chuckled as he dried the tears from his eyes. He turned to the kitchen with a smile.”Well, fun is over. Time to cook.”

(Y/n) smiled as he left. “He’s chipper,” she said lightly. “I’ll go help him.” 

But before she managed to stand, Finland reached out and grabbed her arm again. 

(Y/n) sighed. “Oh, come on, enough is enough,” she said jokingly as she gently removed her arm from his grip. But Norway quickly moved to grab her other arm, effectively keeping her in place. (Y/n)’s smile faltered as she saw the look on his face. 

“Ice needs no help,” he said calmly. “I think Fin would rather you stay with us.” Finland nodded to that as he coaxed her to sink back into the couch. 

Sweden and Denmark finally decided to take a seat as well, which (Y/n) was immensely thankful for. Them simply standing there had unnerved her. She reached for the TV remote and turned to a random sports channel, wanting to try to divert the attention from her to something else. She wasn’t sure if it was exhaustion from the meeting that was causing their odd behaviour, but she sure hoped it wouldn’t continue.

It didn’t take long before she felt Finland snuggle his hand behind her neck to draw her into his chest while Norway adjusted his position so that his head lay rested on her lap. (Y/n) didn’t mind either of those gestures, even absentmindedly started to run her fingers through Norway’s hair. She didn’t notice the cold glares each of the males in the room were sending each other. 

“Sooooo,” Denmark said casually, his face softening as he directed his gaze to (Y/n). “We actually have a question for you.” 

“Yeah?” (Y/n) answered softly, moving to adjust her position. “Ask away.” 

Finland started stroking her hair gently. “If you had to choose one of us, who would you choose?” 

(Y/n) scrunched up her nose. “What do you mean by choose? As in who’s the best, or?”

“No,” Norway replied. “He means if you had to leave all of us except one, who would be the lucky one?”

“I couldn’t choose between you. It’d be too weird!” 

“Yeah, but if you had to,” Iceland asked as he reappeared from the kitchen, a steaming cup in his hands. He leaned against the wall and sent her an expectant look. 

“I’m serious,” she said with a smile. “I literally couldn’t choose. You guys have all been so good to me. I would feel like a cheat if I ran off with one and left the others behind.” 

Sweden scowled down to the floor. “You might be forced to make that decision quite soon.” 

(Y/n) rolled her eyes as she reached for the remote again. “And why is that, you all planning on moving out, or?” 

“No,” Denmark said evenly. “But you will have to choose. It’ll be easier that way.” 

“Jeez, what’s up with you guys? You’re acting odd.” 

“We can’t explain,” Sweden grunted

Finland breathed out. “It’ll just be easier for you if you choose now, rather than later.” 

“Okay, that’s enough,” (Y/n) huffed, standing up. “I’m not in the mood for this right now.” 

Norway’s eyes seemed to glow darkly at that. “You can’t walk away from us,” he said. She sent him an incredulous look. “I’m sorry, but you don’t have a say in that,” she retorted before striding out the room and into the kitchen, an angry air around her. She could feel the eyes of all five of them on her as she made her exit. She went to the sink and turned on the tap, letting the water run for a moment. She was about to go get a glass when Iceland appeared next to her, handing her what she needed.

(Y/n) accepted the glass from his hands, avoiding his gaze as she filled the glass with fresh water. 

“If you’re tense then I just made tea,” Iceland said quietly.

(Y/n) had half a mind to simply ignore the man, but then sighed. “Alright, thanks Ice,” she said earnestly. Iceland flashed her a smile, giving her a mug with piping hot tea. The aroma hit her nose and she instantly felt more relaxed. She took the mug and brought it to her lips, sipping carefully. The effects were immediate. The room started to spin as dizziness took over her mind. She stumbled forward, just barely managing to stay upright. She could vaguely sense the mug smashing against the floor, the hot liquid spilling everywhere. 

“Don’t fight it,” she heard Iceland say in a soft voice. “Just let go.” 

She could feel his hands on her, holding her steady. And she realized she had no choice. His beautiful eyes were the last thing she saw before the world went dark.


	2. Awake

(Y/n) clutched her head as she woke up with a groan, something soft and puffy rubbing against her cheek as she stirred. She cracked an eye open to be greeted with dark blue bed drapes.

She slowly sat up, alarmed by the fact that her surroundings were completely unfamiliar to her. She felt a painful throbbing in the back of her head and winced as she raised a hand to rub the sore spot.

What had happened? She scrunched her eyes together as she searched her still foggy brain for the memories of the events that had transpired. She remembered them coming home and acting weird. And she remembered taking a sip of tea. Her eyes flew open, wide at the realization at what had happened.  
They had drugged her.

No. This couldn't be right. This was probably just a bad prank. This had to be a joke, as bad as it was. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes and fiercely dried them before they could fall. 

No, tears were of no use. She needed to talk to them.

(Y/n) pushed the drapes to the side to whip her feet out of the big bed only for them to be yanked back by rattling chains. Her eyes widened as she picked up the chain connected to her ankles, following it to the leg of the bed. She gave it a strong yank that earned her nothing but a little creak from the bed. This was definitely no prank.  
She started shaking violently as she dropped the chains, making a loud noise as they hit the ground. Fear started taking over as she sat back in the bed.

‘Okay, (Y/n). Calm down. Think this through.’ She thought to herself. ‘Be sure of what you're accusing them off. They are not criminals, they are your friends’

She hesitated. But what did she really know? They claimed to be nations, for heaven’s sake. They could just as well be lunatics, for all she knew.

But they had been so accommodating to her, for half a year no less! Taking her in, when she had nowhere else to go.

She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts. ‘Okay, first things first,’ she thought, ‘find out where you are.’ She moved to the other side of the bed, the chains rattling as they brushed over the sheets of the mattress.

The blue drapes were closing off the bed so she pushed them to the side to open up the space. On her left she saw calm, violet walls almost completely covered with bookcases. A few shelves had framed pictures in them but they were too far away for her to see who occupied them. The door was there as well.

To her right she saw a big window, the moon shining through it, giving her the only source of light. Next to the window was a light blue chair that looked worn. A few more books were sprawled on a small drawer to the side.

A lone plant stood in the corner, its leaves making a beautiful shower of green. A few pink, unopened buds could be seen through the greenery. On the floor around it were the old flowers that had fallen off after their time had passed. It actually looked like one of the plants in the living room, except the flowers on that one were blue.  
Right in front of the bed was a sophisticated, wooden desk completely covered in papers and letters. Above it was a big map of Scandinavia. A big red X had been drawn over Denmark.

Yeah, this was definitely Norway's bedroom. Under normal circumstances, she would have laughed at the obvious dislike Norway showed towards the Dane but nothing about this situation was funny and she had to keep calm.

Now, where exactly was Norway's bedroom again? She closed her eyes, painting up a picture of the house to see where Norway usually went at night.  
"The second floor" she murmured as she opened her eyes. "Left side"

She cursed silently. The left side faced the sea so that meant she couldn't get out through the window. She looked down at her bound feet and sighed. Not that it would matter anyway. She couldn’t go anywhere unless she’d get her legs free.

A flash of sudden anger gripped her body and she growled out as she threw a pillow in sheer frustration. It went flying with a force of determination straight into the bookcase, knocking down a few books and one of the framed pictures. The sound of glass breaking made her cringe back. If someone was home they were bound to hear that, which meant that they would know she was awake. And that was something she was not ready for yet.

She held her breath, listening for footsteps or anything indicating that someone was coming. When silence was the only thing to be heard she breathed out in relief. Maybe lady luck had taken pity on her and decided to do rare charity work and help a little. (Y/n) sighed. Luck tended to never take long visits when it came to her.  
She rolled onto her back and groaned when the chains started tangling around her feet. She kicked them away and grabbed a big pillow, clutching it tightly to her chest as she closed her eyes. The only way to escape a nightmare is to wake up. But what can you do when you’ve been awake the whole time?

()()()()()()()

"So, they're still stuck there?" A chuckle.

(Y/n) probed herself up onto one elbow. That was the first voice she'd heard for over a few hours and frankly, she was relieved. She was getting extremely bored of lying in the dark. She had tried to reach for the books around the room but the chain was really short, only allowing her to move so much. She had managed to reach for one book that was resting on the drawer by the window. Unfortunately for her that it turned out to be about geography and she had quickly gotten bored.

Plus she was getting horribly hungry.

"Yeah, just got a call that confirmed it. They haven't gotten out."

(Y/n) could recognize the cocky voice of Denmark and the dull one of Norway. She couldn’t help but feel both of them sounded off.

Denmark's laughter filled the room but was abruptly cut off by the distinct sound of someone getting slapped. A growl vibrated through the door and (Y/n) could swear it sounded more like an animal than a human. 

"Idiot,” Norway said in irritation, “Go handle things downstairs. I'll take care of our little princess here." 

Denmark didn’t reply but his heavy footsteps echoed through the hall as he retreated back down the stairs, followed by unintelligible muttering.

(Y/n) quickly turned her back to the door and pretended to be sleeping. She'd rather not know what Norway meant about "taking care" of her.

She had to will her heart to calm down and her breathing to even, but couldn’t help but shiver slightly when light from the hallway filled the room. She could hear the almost soundless footsteps of Norway approach her bed and the weight of it shift as he laid down.

She tried to hold back a quiver when she felt his cold hands run up her back smoothly.

The tips of his hairs tickled her skin as he brought his face to her bare neck. She could feel his hot breath on her skin as he lingered and had to resist the urge to move and blow her cover. 

"I know you're awake," He whispered lowly.

She shrieked as she turned around to push him off the bed on the other side. Norway swiftly moved out of her way and stood up with a coy smirk plastered on his face. His normal sailor's outfit was gone and placed with a simple white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, black cargo pants and a red and blue tie that hung loosely down his neck. His shirt was neatly tucked in and a thick, red belt held everything together.

His normally neat hair was a mess of soft locks that hung around his face. His lovely light hair colour that (Y/n) used to love so much was almost gone and replaced by dirty blonde locks.

(Y/n) didn't know what to do, so terrified was she of this new side of Norway. Never in a hundred years would she expect the quiet Norwegian to behave in that way.

Norway chuckled at her horrified expression. “You look like you’ve just seen a monster,” he mused. She shook her head a little, “I just might have,” she said quietly,   
surprising herself that she’d had the guts to reply. It seemed to have surprised the Norwegian as well as he laughed loudly, making her scowl a little. 

Laughing looked so unnatural on Norway. Not that it didn't suit him, mind you. Cause it really did. He looked rather handsome in the act but… the Norway she knew didn’t laugh. Not in that way, at least.

"I’m no monster, love,” he said as he walked to the door to close it, locking it in the process. He flicked the light switch on and turned around.

She brought her hands to cover her eyes from the sudden light that blinded her. When she had gotten used to the brightness she could see Norway sitting on the edge of the bed, a small tray in his lap, containing multiple items. She could see a couple pieces of toast, a can of coke, cheese and strawberries.

Norway watched her as she looked at the food, analyzing her face as the hunger she must have been feeling took over.

"Don't worry," he said, amusement evident in his voice as he observed her leaning forward. "It's for you"

She looked at him hesitantly before reaching for the tray only for him to move it out of reach.

She frowned slightly as she lifted her face to Norway who was looking at something on the floor with a disapproving look on his face.

He turned around slowly, giving her a hard glare. "Why is my picture on the floor?" He asked with an icy tone.

(Y/n) froze, fear written clearly over her face. 'Shit, he's really, really scary!'

"(Y/n)" He said threateningly.

"I-uh, didn't… um"

He sighed. "You know what?" He said, standing up with the tray in one hand "I can’t reward bad behaviour like that," he said as he made his way to the desk and put the tray in clear sight from the bed.

He looked back to see her reaction. "If you want food you will have to be a good girl from now on."

(Y/n) heard her stomach growl and had to look away from the food that was now out of reach.

"This is your own fault," the Norwegian said as he made his way back to the bed and sat down.

She breathed out, determined to at least try to hide her fear from him. "I can handle not eating for a while"

"I don’t think you understand!" He said quietly. "This" he pointed to the chains connected to her ankles, "is your fault.

(Y/n) frowned, "What do you mean?"

He sat back, leaning against the foot of the bed. "If you would have just chosen me then none of this would have happened. I wouldn't have to share you with…" he paused in disgust, "them!"

(Y/n) watched him with unnerving silence. "I don’t know what you are up to, but you know you don't have to do this," she said quietly. "If they are making you do something you don’t want to do then we can just-"

"Leave." He interrupted her, eyes locking onto hers.

"What?"

He looked thoughtful for a little moment until he suddenly looked deeply into her eyes. "We are going now." 

He climbed over her and grabbed the chain, opening it with a key from his pocket.

"Norway doesn't share."

When the chain was loose he picked it up and turned to (y/n). He lifted her chin up with surprisingly soft hands.

"You're all mine sweetheart"


	3. Reality

"Norway, please just let me go" (Y/n) said with tears in her eyes, her facade finally cracking as Norway silently dragged her through the hallways of the second floor.

"Shut up! They'll hear you if you whine too much" he growled as he passed the last bedroom, belonging to Finland. He stopped at the edge of the staircase to peek down. 

(y/n) watched him with fearful eyes as he scanned the room downstairs, making sure not to miss anything. The sound of the TV and men shouting at it could be heard clearly from where they were standing.

A gleam in Norway's eyes caught her attention as he turned back to face her. His old, mysterious, blue eyes had stepped aside to vibrant grey ones that were filled with life and gave his face a charming glow. It would have been attractive if it wasn't for the evil gleam that could be seen through it. His smile didn't do anything to make the Norwegian softer. It only added to the cocky demeanour he had recently been showing.

"We have to sneak past the living room to reach the door. I'd rather we get there unseen to avoid unnecessary conflicts." He said. "Fin and Sve are somewhere on the third floor, strengthening the house defences so we don't have to worry about them. It's Ice and Den that are our problem now." Norway explained. (Y/n) gave him a weird look. Here he was, telling her his strategy like she was his partner and not his prisoner. Not really standard procedure. Norway didn't seem to notice the look she was giving him and continued. "They're watching handball at the moment which means that this is our best chance." He murmured lowly. A shout of victory and a groan of annoyance from downstairs confirmed what he’d said.

"No! Come on, how on earth could you miss?! That was the perfect opportunity" Denmark's loud voice could be heard shouting in anger.

Iceland snickered. "Is my goalkeeper too much for your stupid Danes to handle?"

Denmark emitted a low growl as he pounced on the laughing Icelander, both of them tumbling out of the couch and knocking over the coffee table.

Norway acted quickly, using the moment of chaos to grab the hem of her plain white shirt, that was actually his but he had demanded that she change into it before he ushered her out of his bedroom. Unfortunately, he had not given her any pants to use so she was standing there in an oversized shirt and her underwear. He gave her a cold smile as he pushed her down the stairs.

(Y/n) gave out a shriek of surprise as she tumbled down the hard steps. She landed with a thump, making her release a groan. Before she could even comprehend what had happened, she was dragged up and ushered to the front door that was stationed a few meters from the staircase.  
Norway put his hand over her mouth as she tried to protest, shushing her and motioning for the living room where the two Nordics had stopped their fighting. (Y/n) couldn't see them but if she had to guess she'd say that the boys were in a similar position as she and Norway. Standing side by side, listening for sounds that shouldn't be there. They must have heard the ruckus she made when she fell.

"Den! Where are the others?" Iceland said warily.

(Y/n) could almost see the way Denmark scrunched his nose like he always did when he was thinking, scratching his head in the process.

"Fin and Sve are securing the house and Nor is…" He drifted off in realisation.

"Shit!" Iceland swore as the two of them rushed to the hallway where the duo stood.

"I should have known that you couldn't leave your damn feelings out of this," Denmark said grimly as they appeared from the living room. Danish shouting could still be heard from the narrator on the TV.

Norway removed his hand from (y/n)'s mouth and reached behind him, grasping the door handle. "Too bad for you." Norway said, sending them a victorious smirk. Denmark and Ice gave each other looks and smirked as well. If Norway noticed he didn't show it, for he continued. "I can already tell that she will be really useful to me," he said as he pulled the handle down.

(Y/n) wasn't sure if she should feel scared or relieved when she heard the sound that came next. The door didn't budge. Norway cursed under his breath as he pushed her to the corner, right in front of a dying potted plant. Norway, however, moved so that he stood directly in front of her, blocking all ways of escaping.

The two Nordics in front of them had drawn out their weapons and were now standing side by side in relaxed stances with grins on their faces. Denmark was balancing a large battle axe on his shoulders with practiced skill, making (y/n) wonder if this was the same axe he had told her about countless of times before. His famous Viking axe. The same axe he had told her he had retired, and now was supposed to sit in a dusty garage somewhere. Iceland, on the other hand, had stuck a lean sword into the wooden floorboards, a look of amusement on his pale face.

Norway growled in frustration. He was in a bad position and all of them knew it. Had the men in front of him been two regular mortals this would have been a cakewalk but they weren't typical fighters. These were experienced Vikings that had sailed the seas and conquered villages with ease. Norway knew how they fought and he knew their weaknesses, and he would possibly have stood a chance if he had his long sword. A shield would have been good too.

No, he'd have to use his wits to escape this.

(Y/n) watched with fearful eyes as Norway took a deep breath and started chanting in a steady rhythm. The words that slipped gracefully from his mouth were foreign to the girl but sounded ancient and full of power. Such strong power that petrified her in place. She could see her former friends slightly back away from them before locking positions, all hint of blind confidence gone and replaced with cold glares. Neither of them said a word, seemingly unable to. And when (y/n) tried she found that she too could no longer give out a sound. The room was completely under Norway's spell.

The air around him started to form small clouds that swirled and danced lazily as he chanted. The puffs started to thicken and move in a slow motion around the room, surrounding the four people in a cold, grey embrace. She watched in horror as the boys got hazier and hazier in the fog until they completely vanished from her sights. Being unable to move she was forced to watch the grey beast swallow every single piece of furniture there until everything went under.

Norway's voice slowly faded away until the sound of the TV in the other room was the only thing audible to her ears. She started shaking, knees buckling slightly as she regained control of her limbs.

(Y/n) stood there for a little while, too afraid to move forward. No one said a word, which worried her. She hadn't heard anyone move and she couldn't see a thing. She didn't even know if the guys were still in the same room as her.

After a moment’s hesitation, she weakly stepped to the side. Better to get out of here while she had the chance. She inched her way to the staircase with her back to the wall to be sure not to bump into anyone on her way. And still, nothing could be heard. She had never witnessed a fight before but she was sure that there should a symphony of noise in the room. Not this eerie silence that hung in the air.

When she reached the stairs she let out a sigh of relief. Throwing the weirdness of the silent fight into the back of her mind, she ran up the stairs and up to the second floor, which was, thankfully, not under the spell. She didn't think about being quiet anymore, the thought of escaping overwhelming her every sense.

She ran to the first door she reached and slipped inside. At first, the bedroom would have looked like a normal teenager's sanctuary. A pretty clean one at that but normal nonetheless. Posters of metal bands littered the walls and a simple laptop sat on top of a table in the corner. Next to the window and to the right of the bed stood a lone plant. But the items that lay on the bed would have caught the eye of anyone walking past. Lying on the bed were guns. Rifles, handguns, shotguns, you name it. There was even a sniper rifle lying in front of the window.

She shuddered as she stepped over the weapon and opened the window. The cold wind brushed against her cheek gently, ruffling her hair as she leaned out to check how long the fall down would be.

It was quite a fall…. The window was not an option unless she was looking to add broken bones to her growing list of problems. There must have been an easier escape route.

She started for the door only to freeze at a familiar voice seeping in from the hallway.

"So all the exits from the third floor are secured," the deep voice of Sweden could be heard saying. "Have you made sure that all the windows in the bedrooms are locked?"  
"No" The voice of Finland growled. "I thought that was Norway's job."

(Y/n) slowly backed to the window again, almost tripping over the sniper rifle on the floor. She prayed that they wouldn't come inside.

Sweden sighed. "Then we should get started on securing those as well. I'll start with the ones that are the furthest away and you take these. Then we'll work our way up"  
Finland hissed in annoyance. "Let's just get this over with."

The door to the bedroom slammed open and in came a really annoyed Finland. (Y/n) gave a soft whimper as she shrunk back. Finland stared at her with a blank face for a second before letting an unnerving smile creep on his face. He closed the door with a click and crossed his arms, tilting his head slightly to the right.

"Hei," he said casually. "What are you doing in here? I thought you were having fun with Norja"

She didn't answer, only inching slowly nearer the window. Jumping out was her only option now. Finland only watched her as he continued speaking calmly, now making his way to the bed.

"You didn't want him!" He stated more than asked, with a grin. "That's no surprise, Fins are a lot better anyway." He winked at her. She could do nothing but stand there, frozen and horrified, too terrified to move. 

“No," she managed to squeak out. “What the hell is wrong with all of you!?” She yelled as the Finn inched his way toward her. She looked behind her, her instincts telling her to jump now, before it was too late.

“You don’t want to jump,” he warned her as he saw her brain work through her options.

“No?” she asked as tears started streaming from her eyes. “I don’t have a choice. You are not giving me a choice!” 

Finland didn’t have time to respond before she turned around and hastily climbed onto the window sill. She could hear his surprised yell in the background as she closed her eyes and slipped down. 

She cried out as she hit the ground. What a sight to behold. Tears streamed down her face and she felt pain flaring in her knees and legs. She could hear Finland shout out to Sweden but couldn't make out any words. The commotion that was going on in the house was evident, it was utter chaos.

(Y/n) dried her tears reluctantly as she pushed herself on to her knees. 

Adrenaline pumped in her veins, giving her the push she needed to stumble up and take off on a run. She allowed the tears to continue falling, the confusion and feeling of betrayal mixing with the pain in her body she knew would only get worse as soon as the adrenaline wore off.

Only one thing was on her mind as she ran aimlessly away. 

‘What am I supposed to do now?”’


	4. European Meetings

(Y/n) sat, hunched over herself on a lone bench in a park she had stumbled upon. She sat there, shivering as the icy wind caressed her skin and flung her hair lifelessly around her face.  
The park was fairly empty, as was expected since it was late evening. The trees stood proud and tall, hovering over the trails left by families and couples that wandered in there to pretend that they were in the untouched domain of Mother Nature. On the pond, a swan pair could be seen taking a midnight swim, their white feathers rustling lightly in the breeze.

(Y/n) turned her head up to take a look at the moon that sat over the city, spreading its silvery rays over the land. She tried drying her tears with her sleeve but dropped the futile attempt when they just wouldn't stop flowing.  
She pulled her knees up to her torso and hugged them tight. She shivered violently, her bare legs already ice cold. 

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there as time didn't seem to exist anymore. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. But guessing by the rumbling of her stomach it had been a while. She sniffed as she straightened up, rubbing her thighs to try to get some warmth into them.

Her stomach gave out a loud growl, as to remind her that she needed to toughen up and get a plan. She steeled herseld and stood up from the bench, making her way out of the park. The orange leaves scrunched under her bare feet, occasionally flying to the air as a particularly hard gust pushed them out of their path.

Bringing her hands up to her chest (y/n) tried trapping the little warmth she still had inside of her. She froze as her hands brushed over the breast pocket. It had made the rustling sound of paper. She quickly opened the pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She took the note and folded it open, reading the content in hope of having something useful to work with. Scanning through it she realized it was a note from the meeting they had been in before they turned… well, evil. It contained some notes about things most people would call boring but obviously had a lot of effect on countries like them. Economy this, environment that. But in the top, right hand corner was something that caught her interest. A small line had been scribbled on the paper that formed an address. She recognized the street and knew the general area.

Maybe someone would still be there. She could get help. The address wasn't exactly close to her current position but it wasn’t like she had much of a choice.  
She neatly folded the paper together and put it back into the breast pocket, giving a determined grunt as she pushed her way through the leaves and out of the park.

()()()()()()()

It was just a normal building. A plain concrete building with nothing special making it stand out. She didn't really know what she had expected but the thought that this plain old three-story building had contained a large part of Europe was just ridiculous. There was nothing special about it but maybe that's what they wanted. After all, not many knew who they really were. Not even she knew what the rest of them looked like, the Nordics having thought it'd be safer for her if she knew as little as possible.  
Those were the thoughts that ran through her mind as she tiredly pushed open the glass door to pass into the lobby.

'I wonder what would happen to the countries if the personifications died' she mused half-heartedly as she traced her fingers over the cream coloured walls. Not that she wanted them all killed, but this was a question that she had been thinking about ever since she met the others. She had never dared to ask them in fear of maybe tearing up old wounds.

Shaking her head she tossed the thoughts aside. This was not a time or place to be thinking about things like that.

She made her way through the lobby and to the information desk were a boy in his late teens sat with an irritated look on his face. He looked at her as she came to the desk and cocked an eyebrow, releasing a grunt of dissatisfaction.  
"Don't tell me you're going to that meeting! I swear, if they take much longer I'll break something."

She gave him an apologetic smile. This boy must've either been really dense or really tired to think a girl, wearing only an oversized shirt was going to an important international meeting. 

"I'm here to see if someone by the name of Arthur Kirkland. He was here earlier today, do you know if he is still here?" She remembered hearing Norway talk about him once. Apparently they were some kind of friends. Hopefully, he had been in that meeting with them.

The man shook his head lightly, cocking back his chair as he played with a stapler from the table. "I'm sorry, we don't have records of the people that come to the meetings." He glanced at the clock. "I'll allow you to go check if he's one of the idiots forcing me into overtime if you ask them to hurry up and leave already!" he sighed. "They're on the second floor, room number-" he scanned over a little tablet that hung by his head. "48, I believe"

(Y/n) sent him a grateful look, murmuring her thanks as she made her way to the staircase. The stairs weren't many but she was exhausted by the time she arrived on the second floor. She was panting slightly and her legs were shaking. She leaned against the wall to catch her breath as she swiped the sweat of her brow. Had this been a normal day she'd never step into public looking like she did right now. She wasn't one of those who obsessed about her looks but she always made at least a decent attempt to not look like a zombie. But she had exactly no energy to think about that, and with one deep breath, she pushed the door open.

It led to a long hallway, littered with doors on both sides. The hall was clad in darkness and the only source of light that lit up the white walls was coming from the only open door there. She started walking towards it, with slow and staggering steps. She abruptly stopped as a teacup flew out the door and smashed against the wall, falling to the floor in pieces. (Y/n) watched with wide eyes as cups, dishes and other tableware flew through the doorway, joining their brothers on the floor, creating a heap of little broken ceramic pieces.

(Y/n) stood there for a little while, a little dumbfounded, waiting for the assault to stop so she could enter the room. She started to feel a little light-headed so she leaned against the wall for support. As tableware stopped raining over the wall she pushed herself to stand upright and forced herself to walk into the room.

As she stumbled in she could feel all faces in the room turn to her. She saw a man with blonde hair stand up from his spot on the floor with a surprised look on his face.  
England watched as the girl raised her hand to lean against the wall. 

"Hello? Can we help you?" He asked her with concern. The girl looked like she had just come from war, from her scraped legs to the tangled hair. Leaves and twigs had twisted themselves into the locks and her white shirt could just as well have been worn by a grizzly bear, it was so dirty.

He watched closely as the girl's head started drooping slightly.   
"Is t-there a…" She breathed out, "Arthur …" her eyelids began dropping as she dragged out her sentence. "K-Kirk… la-" 

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as her legs gave out from under her and England could do nothing but watch with horror as the girl collapsed to the floor.

England and a few others acted fast and rushed to their feet to run to the girl. He knelt down and turned her so she lay on her back. He checked her pulse and other necessary precautions as Hungary knelt down besides him, pulling the girl's head into her lap. She began combing through her hair calmly, untangling the knots and removing the leaves in the process. "The poor girl" she whispered as she worked. England could feel eyes bore into his back as he removed his jacket to drape it over the girl.

England stood up with a sigh after he had made sure everything was okay and turned around to meet with the gaze of Germany.

"Is she alright?" he asked with his heavy German accent.

England nodded slightly. "She'll be fine. Looks like she only needs rest"

Germany was silent for a moment as he gazed over the girl's form. "You know her?"

England shook his head with a slight frown on his face. "Never met her in my life. But I think I know how she knows us." He lifted up a piece of paper he had found in her breast pocket. "She seems to have ties with the Nordics."

Germany watched England's face carefully as he processed the information.

Hungary had stood up as well after making a pillow out of a sweater she'd recovered from one of the vacant chairs and put it under the girl's head. She moved over to their side with a worried look. "If she met them recently, she must have…."

She glanced over the room. "I mean, after what they did over here. Who knows what she went through."

Spain walked up to them with a blank expression. "Do we know how she's connected to them? She’s not a nation, and I can't be the only one who thought the Nordics lived alone"

France appeared behind his friend. "Maybe she's their maid"

Hungary shook her head. "I really doubt they have a maid."

Italy crawled over to the girl’s form with a smile. "I don't think maids are dressed in their master's shirts" He said thoughtfully as he tugged at the sleeves of her shirt, revealing the Norwegian flag.

England furrowed his brows at the sight of this. He looked over to Germany and cocked an eyebrow. "Do you think she maybe-"

"Ja! I have my suspicions"

With that, he walked up to the unconscious girl and picked her up bridal style. "Italy, go gather clothes for her. Since we can't leave this room we'll have to improvise. Spain, take her for me. Make sure she's comfortable and warm."

The Spaniard nodded and picked her from Germany's arms before he followed the Italian, who had already begun running around, asking people to donate their clothes with his little grin plastered on.

Germany turned to face the nations before him with a determined face. "England, she was asking for you, so you'll be by her side as she wakes up. If she really does come from the Nordic household then we are in luck. She can walk in and out of this room, whereas we can not. I assume you have not found out a way to reverse the spell?" he asked England.

The Englishman stiffened as he reached for his spellbook that he'd been flipping through before. He shook his head with a frown.

"Hungary, have you found anything that might explain their behaviour?"

"No, we and I haven't found anything yet" Hungary smiled sadly as she could feel the arms of Austria wrap around her waist. "I should go tell the Baltics to rest. They look like they’re about to pass out. Austria and I can find Liech and Switzerland to help us search more"

Germany sighed. "Go do that. Just remember to rest yourselves. We need to have our strength up when we get out of here." He glanced at the sleeping form in Spain's arms. "I don't like dragging a human into our affairs but this is necessary. If she's involved with the Nordics she might know something. If not, we'll have to ask her a big favour"


	5. The Story Telling

"Romano, I swear, if you don't stop throwing the tableware right now you will regret it!"

(Y/n) watched in bewilderment as the German shouted at the small Italian that sat perched on a bookcase, angrily throwing ceramic plates out through the doorframe of the room. He had been doing this for a while now and she couldn't help but wonder where the stuff was coming from.

(Y/n) didn't hear the Italian's reply since Arthur, which she had been told was England, had tapped her shoulder, reminding her to keep focus and continue with her story.  
"Right, sorry. Well, I really only had one choice. To jump out the window and hope to escape." She looked down with a sad expression. "I just don't understand what could have happened to them that made them like this."

Arthur glanced over the small group of nations that had gathered around the girl to listen to her story. "It's time we tell you what happened over here," he said.

(Y/n) looked up, "What do you mean?"

A girl who had introduced herself as Elizaveta gave her a sad smile. "You weren't the only one to witness this new side of the Nordics."

Arthur stood up and cleared his throat. "As you might know, this meeting is for European nations only, used to discuss matters that concern only us. During the meeting, I was seated next to Finland. It didn’t take me long to notice how spaced out he was. Usually he sits through five hour long meetings without losing his smile but there… he just stared into the ceiling with a dreamy expression. It was starting to freak me out when he hadn't broken his stare or said a word to me for half an hour straight. "

Arthur exchanged a glance with Elizaveta before continuing.

"After an hour Ludwig snapped at Iceland. When I looked to the pair of them I could see that Iceland had the same exact expression as Finland, staring into the air with a far off look in his eyes. While Ludwig yelled at Iceland for not paying attention I scanned the room and noticed that the other Nordics were all zoning out in their respective seats. The nations sitting besides them all looked unnerved and some were even trying to snap them out of the weird state."

"Mr. Norway was sitting next to me," a blonde girl said softly, Lili was her name. "I politely nudged him, you know, to remind him that it was his duty as a nation to listen to what was being talked about. Like Mr. Finland, he had been like that since we had sat down. But when I touched him he jerked back with a gasp. He grabbed my arm for a split second in a tight grip before letting it go, like nothing had happened." A male, obviously her brother by the resemblance, put his hand on her back awkwardly. To (Y/n) it didn't look like a comforting gesture but it seemed to calm the quivering girl who looked like she was still quite startled by everything that had happened.  
"Mr. Norway started scanning the room, like he was looking for something but turned his gaze to Germany when his yelling became too loud to ignore."

"Denmark was seated next to me," a man, who (Y/n) had actually thought was asleep, murmured lowly. "Gilbert was on his other side, being really loud. I wasn't really paying attention to them but he seemed to be pretty annoyed that Denmark wasn't responding."

"I was on Gilbert's other side," a man that had introduced himself as Roderich sighed. "After the meeting progressed he just got more and more irritated that Denmark wasn't answering so he started to insult him. I guess he was doing so to try to get attention but it really wasn't working." He rubbed his temples in irritation. "When Ludwig started shouting, Gilbert started raising his voice as well. I don't know exactly what he said but whatever it was it certainly got Denmark's attention"

When Roderich didn't explain (Y/n) raised an eyebrow. "What did he do?"

Elizaveta snorted. "He knocked him out." She pointed to a white-haired man that lay sprawled across a chair in the corner of the room. (Y/n) stared at the man with wide eyes but before she could ask any further Antonio continued. "I was seated next to Sweden, who snapped out of his daze when Gilbert hit the floor. He stood up very quickly kicking his chair away as he moved to Norway's side. I remember hearing Germany curse as Iceland pushed him out of his chair and Finland cocked his rifle."

"All of us were quite alarmed by then and many of us had stood up, our natural defence mechanism kicking in," Arthur said with a small frown. "The five of them had grouped together by the doorway, smirks playing on their lips. They didn't say anything to us, not answering our demands of telling us what the hell was going on."

A blonde, that had been silent the whole time, opting to rather twirl his rose between his fingers than putting in his two cents, straightened up and started speaking. "As they backed out of the room, I and a few others took off after them, only to get thrown back as we tried to go through the doorway." He bent over and handed the rose to (Y/n) with a small smile.

Antonio rubbed his neck with a wince. "It wasn't pleasant"

Arthur clutched his book, his frown just getting deeper and deeper. "When we inspected the door we found out that none of us could go through. We tried the windows as well but they told the same story. But everything else seemed to be able to pass through the doorway with no problem. In fact," Arthur glared at Romano, who still sat perched on the bookcase. "Someone decided it'd be a good idea to ruin every single dish and glass he could find in this bloody room." (Y/n) observed as the Italian threw the remaining dishes at Ludwig's form who dodged easily while screaming at him to stop and get down"

Arthur sighed. "I've been tearing through my book to try and find a spell to reverse this but it is more complicated than I thought. I knew Norway was a good caster but this is just above my level."

(Y/n) blinked. "But I walked in without any trouble."

"Yes, I think it might be because you're human." Arthur eyed her quickly before averting his gaze. He murmured something she didn't catch with… was that guilt?

(Y/n) shook her head in slight confusion. This was only making things more complicated for her. "But I still don't understand what happened to them. Why are they acting like this?"

Ludwig walked past her with a grunt as he placed Romano in Antonio's lap before finding a chair and joining the little circle. Romano looked really angry whereas Antonio couldn't look happier.

Arthur gave her a serious look before speaking up. "We have a few suggestions and none of them is pleasant."

Ludwig cleared his throat. "Our first guess was that their 2Ps had broken through. We have never had an encounter with their versions so we can't really be sure." He stopped when he saw the confusion on (Y/n)'s face. "A 2P, stands for second player, is like a nation’s evil twin except they are the exact opposites of us."

(Y/n) nodded, even though she didn't really know what the German was talking about but she didn't want to be too much of a bother by annoying them with her ignorance. The Nordics had never told her of anything close to this but these 2Ps sounded bad so she hoped that some of the other options would be better.

Arthur took over. "Our second guess was that their countries had declared war on us. Sometimes when our governments go through drastic changes then our personalities can change. The best example of this would be the world wars." He sent a sympathetic glance to Ludwig before continuing.

"And our last guess was that someone had somehow managed to brainwash them."

(Y/n) stared at him with a cocked eyebrow.

Arthur grimaced. "I'm not meaning 'I-have-a-watch-when-I-snap-you-are-a-dog brainwash, but that someone is using one of the many secret methods of mind control."

France frowned. "I think that's the worst case scenario."

Before she could ask Romano had already answered.

"Because if someone is controlling them, then that means someone knows about us."

There was silence in the group for a moment as everyone pondered that thought. (Y/n) took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. All three of those suggestions sounded bad. She glanced over the group with sad eyes. "Can you fix them?" She asked.

The nations looked at each other with doubt in their eyes. Arthur took a step towards her and put his hand on her shoulder. "If it's their second players then yes. We know how to handle that and should be able to get them to normal within a couple of days. But if we don't have experience in the situation then things might take a little time. Besides," He looked around the room, "we can't do much when we're stuck in this room."

Ludwig stood up and dragged his chair over to where she sat and seated himself right in front of her. "But you're not restricted to this room like we are." He said seriously. 

"You can go in and out as you please. You came here for our help, correct?"

(Y/n) nodded.

"Well, then I have a plan. But first, I need a beer."

()()()()()()()()()()()

Sweden walked into the room with an irritated look on his face. Norway sat on a chair in the middle, mildly glaring out the window. Sweden walked up to him and grabbed his arm, tugging him roughly up. "She got away because of you, you know."

Norway scowled as Sweden began dragging him out the door. "If what Fin says is true, then I think it's more his fault than mine"

"He wouldn't have had to do anything hadn't you let her out."

Finland and Iceland sat on the couch in the living room, and guessing from their facial expressions they were not amused. Iceland had a few scratches and bruises on various places on his body and he held an icepack against his hip. Denmark was sprawled over an armchair, clutching his bandaged head with a death glare directed towards Norway. "What were you thinking!? What happened to our plan." He hissed.

Norway smirked as he eyed the bandages. "I got you pretty good, huh" Glancing at Iceland he laughed. "You guys are pathetic."

Iceland growled, storming up to him to land a hard punch to the shoulder. Norway gritted his teeth to hold in a yelp.

"If I remember correctly, brother, I dislocated your shoulder." Iceland spat.

Norway sent him a glare, keeping his arm close to his body as his shoulder was still tender after Finland had popped it back into its socket.

Denmark grumbled. "We would've taken you down easily if it hadn't been for that blasted fog."

"And I would have won if Fin and Sve hadn't come to save your sorry asses"

Iceland gave him a death glare and Denmark looked like he was going to tear up the couch.

Finland stood up with an irritated huff. "As much as I love witnessing a fight you guys need to save it for later." He hissed. "Norway, you wouldn't be alive if it weren't for the fact that we need your magic. Ice, Den! Just leave it for now. We need to fast forward our plan since we lost her."

Sweden, who had been leaning against the wall, pulled out a match box with an eerie smile. "I have my part ready"

Denmark glanced in Norway's direction and glared. "I'm not working with him on this one"

Norway gave him a sweet smile. "What! Afraid I'll kick your ass again?"

Finland darted towards Denmark's form, just in time to hold him back as the Dane tore forward with a snarl. "Norway. Come on, I know it’s fun to rile us all up but we have to take this seriously," Finland growled out as he tried pushing the Dane back down into his seat.

Norway gave a hum of acknowledgement. "I'm sorry Denny" he smiled a little mockingly. "But if you think you can't handle it you can switch places with bror." Norway glanced at Iceland with a daring smirk. "If he doesn't mind working with me"

Iceland looked at him with disgust before giving him a big smile. "Of course I don't mind" he said, his words laced with sarcasm. "I'd love to spend time with my big brother."

Finland gave him an annoyed look before nodding. "Great! Now that that's settled we can begin. Den, switch items with Ice and get going. We'll be right behind you."

Denmark stood up with a grumble, making sure to bump into Norway's injured shoulder as he made his way to the Icelander. Iceland handed him a bag that had been resting behind the couch and moved to his brother's side. The two of them watched Denmark go out the door as Finland and Sweden disappeared into the cellar.

They stood there in silence for a little while before the Norwegian spoke up. "We could take her."

Iceland didn't answer as he continued staring out the open door.

"Sharing with one is a lot easier than with four." Norway said lowly as he turned, giving his brother a light pat on the shoulder. "Think about it," He murmured as he started for the stairs.

Iceland didn't move for a while as he bounced the thought over in his head.

'It could be interesting.’


	6. Friend or Foe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have recently gotten into the habit of writing in the present tense, so I have made that change here too. I'll update the older chapters to match.   
> I'm very close to done editing all the chapters I had written before and would love to hear some feedback on if this is worth continuing :) Please drop a comment below if you'd like to see more.

(Y/n) trudges down the street of the small neighbourhood with her hands in her pocket. It had snowed over night and the white sheet that lies over the ground scrunches under her feet, her breaths coming out like smoke.

After Germany had told her the plan, the nations had decided that she was to be trusted and had spent the entire night feeding her information. They had all introduced themselves with their real country names, but (Y/n) decided quickly that she'd continue using their human names. After a while, she was sent down to the lobby to send the boy home. He had been beyond relieved to go home and did so without a fuss.

Upon getting back up she had refused to wear Norway's shirt any longer, disgusted by the piece of clothing that would forever stand for a bad memory, so the nations had to sacrifice some of their articles for her. England had handed over his jacket, as the gentleman he was and Spain had stolen Prussia's jeans off of the still unconscious nation for her to wear. France had offered her his underwear with a wink, which she politely declined. With the clothing issue sorted out she was sent out to "save them all" as Italy had worded it. "And get pasta ~"

The plan itself was simple: Go get reinforcements. She herself was not capable of fighting five immortals nor breaking a spell so she was tasked to find the rest of the world and notify them of the situation. Everyone outside of the Europeans were in the dark about what was happening and without a proper warning they could get badly hurt.

While she walked down the neighbourhood in the cold, the Europeans would work on getting out of the house.

So here she was, clutching a map of the city, as she scans the houses for the correct address. She had been wandering around for one and a half hour without any luck, only managing to get herself lost.

She leans against the nearest lamppost with a sigh. Reading maps had never been her speciality. 'What am I doing?" she thinks to herself bitterly. 'How naïve does someone have to be to think I, of all people, could actually help these guys. Men and women who are probably ten times older than me, fifty times smarter and a hundred times more experienced.' She glares at the map in her hands. 'I can't even read a stupid map'

"Excuse me, miss?"

She is ripped out of her thoughts as she is tapped lightly on the shoulder. She turns around curiously to face a man in his twenties. He is staring at her with kind eyes, hidden behind neat glasses, his blond hair falling in short, loose curls around his face.

"Are you lost?" the man asks with a small smile.

"What?"

He motions towards the map in her hand. "You look a little lost. Are you visiting?"

"You might say so," she grumbles. "Do you know this address?"

The man takes the map from her hands and inspects the name that had been underlined. His brows rise a bit as he eyes her with interest. He hands her back the map and nods. "Yeah, I know it. What business do you have there?” 

“I’ve got a message I need to deliver,” (Y/n) answers honestly. 

The man watches her with interest. “I can show you, follow me." He takes her hand gently and starts leading her down the street.

'What a peculiar man' she thinks as he leads her down the street wordlessly. “Thank you so much for this,” she says, her teeth chattering. “It’s so cold, I don’t know if I would have been able to search for much longer.” 

The man looks over his shoulder to send her a bright smile. "It's my pleasure. I’m Matthew, by the way."

His smile makes her own lips curl upwards. It's a smile no one can resist. 

"I’m (Y/n)."

The walk is short, taking only ten minutes or so. What surprises her is the fact that Matthew pulls keys out of his pocket as they walk up the porch.

"You live here?" She sputters with wide eyes.

"No" Matthew pushes the door open and motions for her to walk inside with a small smile. "It's my brother's."

"Mattie? You brought a guest!" A man calls from inside the house. "Shoot, we don’t have anything to offer.” (Y/n) barely has the time to react when a man comes up to her with a smile to rival the sun. He reminds her a bit of Mathias. The man motions for her to step inside, offering his hand to shake. She takes it and notes the firm grip. “I’m Alfred,” he says warmly. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m sorry we can’t offer you anything. I haven’t made a grocery run for a while.” 

(Y/n) almost forgets the reason she came, so charming was his presence. Even though the two men look almost identical, they are obviously very different personalities. Then it dawns on her. If this is the address she is supposed to find then that means Matthew's brother is America. And if they are brothers then that means that Matthew is a nation too.

"Mattie, what’s the occasion here? You’ve never brought home a girl before," Alfred, America she reminds herself, says teasingly, his eyebrows wagging in a suggestive manner. Matthew sighs as he hangs up his coat, the snow has already melted into a puddle on the floor. (Y/n) smiles at the man’s slight blush. 

“I won't trouble you then," Alfred waves as he turns away. 

“Brother, she’s here for you.” Matthew says exasperatedly. “I found her roaming outside,” he continued. 

(Y/n) nods as Alfred's gaze slowly lands on her. “Uh, that’s right,” she says awkwardly. “Mr. America, it’s an honor to meet you, but I have an urgent message.” 

Alfred's eyes widen as he casts her a bewildered look. "What did you just call me?"

(Y/n) freezes, the realisation dawning on her as she glances over to Matthew who has a look of worry on his face. 

Matthew is about to say something but his brother is quicker. His goofy smile is gone, replaced by a serious scowl. As soon as (y/n) opens her mouth to explain he has already drawn a gun and now aims it directly at her. "Who are you and how do you know who I am!"

(Y/n) backs to the wall in panic, eying the gun with fear. America matches her movement precisely, closing the distance between them with ease. "Don't. Move!" he growls. "Now answer the question."

"I come from the Europeans," she squeakss. "They need help."

Alfred cocks his gun and points it to her temple. (Y/n) can feel her nerves shattering as tears start running down her cheeks.

"Why didn't they just call me themselves?" he asks with distrust.

"M-magic." She sniffes. "All electronics a-are down in the meeting room."

Alfred doesn't look convinced and (Y/n) feels like she is going to faint. They stand there for a while, no one saying anything, the only noise coming from the TV as a news reporter goes over the weather. Matthew moves towards the duo carefully. Alfred's gaze is so intense that it looks like he is trying to use his glare to burn a hole into her chest. (Y/n) can't do nothing but attempt to press herself into the walls, her only wish at that point to disappear.

"Al, stop." Matthew says softly. "I think she's telling the truth."

Alfred casts a glance over his shoulder at his brother with furrowed brows. "And why do you think that?"

"Look at her jacket"

Alfred turns his attention back to her, eyeing Arthur's signature green jacket. "She could have stolen it,” he says.

“Does she really look like a spy to you? Do you really think she's capable of taking down a nation? Just look at her, she's shivering like a leaf."

Alfred hesitates and then sighs, lowering his gun. "You're right." He eyes her with slight irritation. “You know lady, if you are telling the truth then you are a damn fool.” (Y/n) doesn't answer, opting to slide to the floor and cover her face with her hands. She cries into her palms, the shock and fear overwhelming her.

“Matthew, did you have to ruin my day like this?” Alfred retorts. “Look, girl, talk now or I will have no choice but to hand you over to the authorities.” She doesn't respond, but flinches as a hand lands on her shoulder. She glances up to see Matthew stand over her, an apologetic smile on his face. “My brother is obsessed with security, you should understand if you know who he really is,” he says as he offers her a reassuring hand. (Y/n) eyes it fearfully, but Matthew has done nothing to earn her distrust, so she takes it and he hoists her up. Alfred has moved back a few steps, his arms crossed and his eyes still boring holes into her. Matthew leads her to the couch before disappearing into the kitchen. Alfred sits on the armchair in front of her as Matthew reappears with a glass of water, that she accepts gratefully. 

Alfred looks like he wants to speak but Matthew sends him a look of warning. Matthew turns his attention back to the girl in front of him and speaks up. "You might not know this but being a nation is very stressful," he begins. "If the information of our existence falls into the wrong hands then things can get very ugly very fast. America as a country has a big influence on other countries and is a very popular target. For that reason he needs to be very careful."

(Y/n) nods. "I understand that. It was stupid of me to approach the subject so carelessly.” She hesitates and Matthew nods in understanding. “You are shaken,” he says. “That’s understandable. But you have to explain yourself immediately or we won’t have a choice.” The warning is clear. 

(Y/n) tries to swallow her fear as she pulls out a letter. She can feel the eyes of the men watching her carefully, both ready to strike if needed. She offers the letter to Alfred, who accepts. “I have a message from the Europeans," she says in a quivering voice.

Alfred rips the envelope with ease and scans the message inside. He looks back up, his gaze landing on her once more. (Y/n) feels the shift in the tension and breathes a sigh of relief. She knows she’s been cleared. Alfred passes the letter to his brother with an impassive look. Matthew reads through the letter with a bit more concern before laying it down. They both stand up and grab their coats, motioning for her to follow them as they make their way out the door.

She stands up clumsily, her legs shaking slightly as she follows them out the door. “Where are we going?” she musters up the courage to ask.

"We are going supply hunting," Alfred says with a smile as Matthew pulls up his phone.

"What? No, I have more letters to deliver!" She turns around, intending to rush away but Alfred grabs her arm easily. She struggles to get out of his grip but the American has no intention of letting her go. 

“First of all,” he says with an incredulous frown, "letters are the stupidest way to get this message out. Who gave you this order? England? Germany?” he starts dragging her down the street and she has no choice but to follow with a helpless look. “They're all so old fashioned. No need for letters when you've got this." He points to the phone in his brother's hand. "Matthew is already on it, dude. Don't sweat it."

(Y/n) doesn’t really know how to respond, so she doesn’t. She matches the American’s steps and it doesn’t take long for him to let go of her arm when he sees she won’t bolt. There’s no point, and all of them know she stands no chance of escaping. And, she has to admit, even though he had threatened to kill her, the two nations in front of her are her best bet of getting everything back to normal. After a few minutes of walking they come face to face with a fast-food restaurant. (Y/n) furrows her brows. "I thought we were getting supplies."

Mathew sighs. "Just go with it."

Alfred grins. "You two take a seat. I'll order." Matthew shakes his head before he leading her to a table in the corner. He gives her a pointed look as they sit down. "What’s your story?” he asks her. “How did you get dragged into this mess?"

(Y/n) hesitates, contemplating if she’d get away with refusing to answer. She doesn’t want to talk about what she’d experienced yet. It still hurt. But something in the nation’s eyes told her that she wouldn’t get away with silence. So with defeat she replies. "How much did the letter tell you?"

"Just the basics. The betrayal at the meeting and the fact that no one can leave. And that you are to be trusted,” he pauses. “To a certain degree. We will be watching you closely. You’ve earned enough to know that.”

She swallows thickly. That was to be expected. "Well, I… was living with the Nordics,” she starts. “They took me in when I needed help the most and for that I am forever grateful, but... they changed."

Matthew nods. "How are they changed? What is different about them?"

"Their looks were a little different,” she recalls. “Not much but enough for me to notice. Their personalities, however… they seem like completely different people. The men I saw in that house, they weren’t them. I'm not really sure what they wanted with me but they locked me in Norway’s room. They really didn’t want me to leave."

Matthew eyes her with interest. “How did you escape?” 

She frowns, the unpleasantness of the whole experience resurfacing. “They had a disagreement,” she replies. “Lukas, or… Norway rather. Using his name feels wrong.”   
Matthew nods in understanding, prompting her to continue. 

“I think Norway diverted from the plan. He wanted to take me away from the others, but it didn’t go his way. I managed to get away in the chaos that ensued.”

Alfred had joined them, a dozen bags on the floor, plus a tray on the table with some fries and three cans of soda. "Did you see anything in the house itself that could have triggered this? Did they get any suspicious guests?" he asks.

(Y/n) shakes her head. "No, nothing that could have that effect.”

"Different diet? New hobbies?" Matthew offers but to both she shakes her head no.

The trio sits in silence for a short while. (Y/n) can’t even imagine touching the fries that America pushes her way. She doubts she could stomach anything at this point. All of them are in their own worlds, thinking of the situation when the buzzing of Matthew’s phone shakes them all awake. Alfred snatches the phone and reads through the text. He pumps his fist into the air with a big grin. "Oh yeah, the hero did it again! The Asians are on their way"

"Wasn't it your brother who called them?" (Y/n) asks with a raised eyebrow. "Well, yeah, but it's my phone." (Y/n) gives a small chuckle which makes both men smile. Laughter can heal surprisingly big wounds.

Matthew turns to Alfred and gently pries the phone out of his hands to pocket it. "I think we should get going. They must be getting hungry over there and the sooner they're out the sooner we can start working on the real problem."

Alfred and (Y/n) both rise from their seats, all three of them grabbing a few bags from the floor as they exit the restaurant. They walk in silence, not even Alfred tries to fill it with useless rambling.

It starts snowing. White flurries fall lazily down to the ground and rest on the already snowy grounds. (Y/n) smiles softly as she watches them fall. The flakes stick in their hair and weave their way down their necks. (Y/n) moves her head to stare straight up to into the grey clouds, letting the flakes settle on her nose. As she moves her head down she catches sight of a murky grey cloud in the sky, not too far away. The cloud is forming a straight pillar that shoots straight up to the sky.

(Y/n)'s head shoots to the right as a fire truck comes zooming past them on top speed, sirens going wild. The trio exchanges worried glances as they break into a run. They run much slower than they want, the slippery snow tricky to manoeuvre through but eventually they make it out of the neighbourhood and into the street that faces the meeting building.

All of them come to a sudden halt, dropping their bags to the ground as they see what stands before them. The building is up in flames. The white walls are almost black from soot and smoke has made its way up the walls, forming the dark pillar that stretches high up into the sky. The three of them watch with horror as a fireman screams over the roars of the flames for help to hold the hose as they start fighting the fire. Alfred snarls, pushing up his sleeves as he starts making his way to the burning house just to be stopped by the Canadian who gives him a warning glare.

"Let go of me, brother" Alfred hisses with anger.

"No" the Canadian states simply.

"England is in there!" He yells. "I'm the hero! I have to go"

Matthew only shakes his head, tightening his grip on his brother.

"Alfred?" (Y/n) asks with a shaky voice. "Nations are immortal… right?"

Alfred can’t tear his eyes away from the dancing flames as he curls his hands into tight balls. "We are," he says, not sounding very happy about the statement. “But we can still die.” 

"Are nations immune to magic?" she asks again, a hint of malice hidden in her voice.

The brothers both turn their heads to look at the seething girl beside them. Alfred hesitates before answering. "No, they're not." He studies her for a little while. "Why do you ask?"

She doesn’t answer him, her stare focused on the windows, watching as thick, grey fog crawls out of them and inches its way down the soot-covered walls.


	7. The curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Europeans work on their curse problem, with mixed results...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised that this chapter would come out last weekend... But then it just needed a bit more time and attention.   
> Well, I hope you enjoy!

**5 hours earlier**

England slams his book closed with a heavy groan, shocking the sleeping Greece beside him awake. "I give up. It's not in here," he says as he runs his hands through his hair with a sigh. He has been searching his spellbook for what feels like ages for anything resembling a counterspell to the curse Norway placed on the room, and still he comes up empty.

The nations in the room are silent, a rare occurrence for the ancient beings. All of them know complaining at this stage is of no use. They might treat each other like children from time to time but having lived for such a long time, through wars, famines and hardships, has drained all parts of real childishness out of them. 

As they look at each other they see the real nations of Europe. No one smiles, but not a single one of them shows defeat either. Years of experience tell them that they will get through this, as they always do.

A hand on England's shoulder catches his attention, and he finds himself face to face with France. "It's in there" the Frenchman strains a smile. "It has to be." 

England only shakes his head as he looks down, "You are aware of the Magic trio."

France nods wordlessly. England gives him a tired look. "The three of us all do different kinds of magic. I rely mostly on my spellbook, can't really cast without it." He looks down to his lap. "Norway is more of a nature caster. He doesn't have chants memorized but they come to him naturally. He's the best for improvised stunts. Romania is the one we truly need right now." England rubs his temples in slow circles, closing his eyes. "He's similar to Norway except he draws his energy from himself. He specializes in curses and is, henceforth, the best to break them." England leans back in his chair. "I don't know what happened but Norway seems to be breaking out of his zone. I've never seen him cast a spell of this caliber before."

France gives him a thoughtful look. "Is it just me, or is it not a coincidence that Romania isn't here?"

England cocks an eyebrow, prompting France to continue. 

"Look at the facts. The Nordics suddenly go all Viking on us and a large part of Europe just happens to be absent. Coincidentally, one of the few souls that could possibly help us is a part of that group. Maybe there's a connection."

"Don't be absurd,” England snaps. “Russia just wanted to hold a meeting of his own with east of Europe." 

France gives him a look. "Come on, England. Use your head a little. It does feel a little fishy. And why would Russia leave the Baltics out of this private meeting? Or Poland?" England just grumbles as he turns back to the book. France sighs. "You really need to start connecting the dots. Otherwise, you'll never see the big picture."

England stiffens, surprise evident on his face. "That's it." He murmurs. "That's it!" He jumps up and leans over the book with excitement, flipping through the pages at record speed. France steps back a bit, watching as the Brit murmurs to himself. He knows him well enough to give him space to think, so he moves across the room to gaze out the window. Not a minute passes before Germany joins him.

"Did he find it?" He asks. France shakes his head. "I don't think so, but he's on to something."

Germany nods. "Good. Hopefully he'll be quick about it."

France looks back to watch as the England furiously flips through the pages and scribbles on his small sheet of paper. Italy stands behind him, peeking curiously over his shoulder. "I think he's going as fast as he can," France says with a small smile.

"Not fast enough," Germany replies with displeasure. France frowns. "What do you mean by that?"

The German keeps scanning the streets outside the window with narrowed eyes. "What do you think they're doing by this?" He says calmly. “The Nordics, I mean. You think they locked us up for their own amusement? To laugh at us from afar?" Germany's tone doesn’t change as he speaks, his voice remains steady and clear, but his body betrays his emotions. His posture is stiff and his hands that rest on the wall are turning white as he clenches them into fists. His eyes are fierce and his aura radiates anger. France watches him warily as the German continues. "No. They're lining us up. Like lambs to the slaughter. They're keeping us here to pick up when they please. So at least one thing is clear." He turns his back to the window and faces France head-on. "When we get out we need to go on the offensive. We need to strike them before they're ready to strike us."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" France and Germany both turn around to see Switzerland standing with arms crossed. "We don't know what they're planning and attacking them could prove bad for their countries. We do not want another war here."

"Sometimes war is inevitable" Germany grumbles.

"That does not mean that war is always the answer" 

"They might as well have already started one."

"Some of us would have felt it already"

"Mes amis!" France steps between the glaring neighbours. "Save this for later."

The two give each other stinging looks before going their separate ways. France sighs. Even though they are supposed to be used to this kind of pressure as nations, it seems that they still can’t manage to keep a level head. He scans the group before him with worry.

The only positive movement in the room seems to be around England. Liechtenstein, Latvia and Belgium had joined Italy in observing his work and soon the Brit decides to use the extra hands so all four of them are bent over the yellow pages of the book, whispering information to each other.

The negative effects of sitting and waiting can be seen everywhere else in the room. Lithuania and Poland have dragged out a pack of cards and are playing 'go fish'. Each time Lithuania stumbles on a card that Poland happens to have, the Pole hurls them towards his friend in a moment’s rage before composing himself again.

Hungary sits stiffly up against the wall beside the duo, a certain Spaniard laying in her lap without permission. Her fingers have found solace in Spain’s brown hair as she combs through it, humming a low tune. Spain has somehow managed to drag Romano to him and is clutching him with a strong grip. Romano has long since stopped struggling and lies there in defeat, staring at the ceiling as he listens to Hungary's voice.

Turkey has moved Greece from the table and is now in a similar position to Hungary, but with Greece leaning on his shoulder.

The Netherlands has started a low argument with Estonia and Austria, the three standing in the corner hissing at each other. It’s clear that the Dutchman has no reason to argue with the two, his only motivation to _something_. And in normal circumstances, Estonia and Austria would never have taken the bait.

Germany has returned to gazing out the window and Switzerland has gone to stand by the wall behind the Englishman, keeping a close eye on his sister.

With a deep sigh, France makes his way to the wall and slides down to the ground.

The minutes pass by agonizingly slow. There is absolutely no movement in the room anymore, and the only sound comes from the quiet scribbles from England's pen. He has sent his helping hands away and they have joined the rest of their peers by the wall.

It is only when England puts down his pen with a tired sigh that the Europeans start to stir. "It's done" He whispers, slowly pushing his chair back to stand up. The nations that haven’t yet fallen asleep turn their heads to him with tired gazes. Spain gently pushes the drowsy Italian aside in favour of standing up. "You sure it'll work?" He asks with worry.

The Englishman shakes his head wearily. Spain glances at the door briefly before continuing. “What do you need us to do?”

Without words, England hands the paper to Spain. “Hold this up please,” he says as he positions himself in front of the door. Spain doesn’t hesitate to obey, holding the paper so that England can easily read what’s written on it. England takes a deep breath before turning to the others. “If I have done this correctly, the spell should lift for enough time to get a few of you out together. I’ll continue chanting until we are all safe, but you have to be ready.” England doesn’t have to say more. They are all aware of the price spell casters make when chanting so the urgency is clear. The nations watch in silence as the Brit steels himself. Then he begins to chant. At first, nothing happens, but then a faint glow starts to radiate from his body. The chant is long and it’s obvious to everyone that it is already straining him. England focuses all of his concentration to not falter or hesitate as the words flow out. Each word is filled with power and they seem to fill the room. England keeps his gaze fastly trained on the sheet in front of him, his forehead already drained in sweat.

A spark ignites in the middle of the doorway, startling the nations as the walls start to sway and bend. The nations watch frozen in place as the illusion of white walls around them crashes down to make way for thick grey smoke. Before they can even blink, the mirage settles back into the innocence of white concrete. 

England doesn’t falter in his chanting, but it is clear that the flickering image has startled him. Only a moment later another flicker in the windows catches their gaze and the image of the blue sky and busy street buckles from the force of the chanting words that hang in the air and morphs into one of thick, grey smoke and dancing red flames. It holds for only a moment before falling right back down.

Germany looks back to England with worry. Turkey has a small frown etched onto his face as well. He shoots France a look who, in turn, nods in understanding. The Netherlands and Switzerland seem to have caught on as well as they move towards the walls, both grabbing a gentle but firm hold onto their sisters. Germany does the same to Italy and Turkey grabs Greece. England carefully steps back to clear the doorway, Spain following closely.

The chanting suddenly becomes louder as the image sparks again and England shoots the nations a look of warning. They watch with anticipation as the image buckles for the third time and at the exact moment, the men push the nations they had taken hold of into a heap out the door. As soon as they pass through the doorway the image comes up again and they disappear behind it.

England looks to be tiring. He is pale as a sheet and has started shivering like a leaf, swaying from one side to the other. Still, there is no sign of hesitation or tiredness in his voice as he continues. Germany shoots him a wary look, knowing that he can’t go on much longer. France goes to the Baltics and motions for them to go through next. As they lunge with Poland in tow, they land right into the arms of the ones that had gone through before. The nations inside shout in alarm. The hallway is lit up with fire and the countries outside huddle together to avoid the flames.

The Netherlands shouts to the German who is about to push Hungary through who turns around and faces the Dutchman. He stands in the middle of the room with a grim look, pointing towards a white little cloud that has started to form in the corner of the room. England glances over his shoulder at the commotion and almost loses his concentration at the sight. He sends Spain a very serious look, his voice getting hastier and almost pleading.

The Spaniard nods. "Amigos, we have to be quicker," he says with a calm seriousness many don’t think he possesses. "England can't hold out much longer. I don't know what this cloud does but I really don't want to find out."

Germany nods and with a push Hungary goes through, Austria by her side. The roaring of the fire and crackling wood blend together with words of urgency from the other side. Switzerland scrunches up his face. "They're not leaving. Why are they not leaving!?"

"Maybe they can't," France offers.

"Or they don't want to leave without us," Spain says.

Germany glances from the cloud. "Yeah, well, we'll have to get out quickly or we're in for it."

France goes up to England and pats his back with worry. England has gripped Spain’s shoulder for support and his words have started to get weaker, his voice finally catching up with how his body feels. France looks back to Germany. "He's not staying conscious like this for much longer."

Turkey backs up to the wall with a grimace. "That cloud is also getting a lot bigger." The others turn to see that the cloud has taken the form of a huge tidal wave that looms over them. It is moving forward at a speed that tells them they have barely any time before it will engulf them.

"England, get it to flicker one more time," Germany yells in urgency to the Brit who in turn nods very wearily. He shakily lets go of Spain and turns all his remaining energy to the doorway and with one final shout the image flickers for the last time. Spain doesn’t hesitate the slightest as he jumps from his spot and through the door. France is about to rush through as well as he sees the Brit sway to the side, looking on the verge of falling unconscious. Without thought, he grabs his arm and pulls him over before pushing him through the gap just before it closes, leaving the rest of the nations in silence.

The countries that are still in the room watch the doorway with a mix of shock and realization. They are trapped. Prussia blinks before snickering. "Is it ironic that we just pushed them out into raging fires while we just chill in here?" The words are spoken without humour.

The others have little time to comment as a noise from the corner catches their attention. Romano sits in the corner and throws a chair off of him. They watch him in stunned silence as he dusts himself off.

France blinks, and right before the fog swallows them all he manages to say, "Oh, Spain is going to freak."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment! I love hearing from you <3


	8. It's Raining Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Nordics have arrived to claim their nations.

Fire has always fascinated Sweden. Ever since he was a viking he has been drawn to it. Back then, fire had been much more commonplace. Essential for sustained life. Nowadays it is vastly underappreciated. As he stands in the shadows of trees, he and Finland watch the flames dance around the stone building that houses the European. He feels a sense of nostalgia when memories of his men raiding towns come flashing back to him and he smiles warmly.

"It's been a long time," Sweden muses, his eyes never leaving the bright orange flames.

Finland seems to know exactly what he means as he replies with furrowed brows. "Too long. It is finally our time. It's long overdue that these people learn to fear us again."

"I've missed it," Sweden agrees.

The duo watches as the firefighters pump seemingly endless amounts of water onto the flames with no visible success. Their frustration can be easily seen as they struggle to fight the rising flames that seem to have a will of their own. The fire rages on, but Sweden notes it is only on the front part of the house. The back has been completely untouched. If the firefighters have noticed they do not show it. 

"Norway was meticulous this time," Sweden says with a smile as he watches the men shout over the snarling flames to each other, trying to cooperate to take control. "These humans will be here for a long time."

Finland breathes out, "They'll be here until the house burns down if what Norway said is true. This fire can't be put out by water. It will only disappear when its target has been burned down to the ground."

Sweden nods. "And what about the back half of the building?"

"Norway's keeping that part free until we get the nations out. After all, we don't want them dead just yet." Finland tears his eyes away to face the Swede with a blank face. "Let's go. Ice and Nor should be getting out of there soon and we need to head back before it's too late."

"I'll get the car," Sweden grunts.

"No need!"

The duo turn around with slight surprise before quickly throwing themselves to the side right before a white van screeches to a halt in the exact spot they had stood just a second earlier. Sweden and Finland both send dirty glares to the Dane that sits comfortably in the driver's seat with a smug grin. Denmark winks at them, "I heard you needed a ride."

Sweden is about to storm to the Dane's side in anger when Finland lays a hand on his shoulder. "Stop. We don‘t have time for this." Sweden shakes the hand off his shoulder with a small growl. "He's so reckless."

Finland doesn’t answer as he moves forward and climbs into the passenger seat with an irritated look. Denmark watches as the Swede climbs in from the back and when he has sat down the Dane smiles big. "Did you guys know that turtles breathe with their ass?"  
Sweden groans from the back as Finland punches the laughing Dane in the side.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Iceland drags the unconscious Germany through the doorway of the meeting room and over to one of the rooms on the other end of the hall. He drops him by the others right under the window. His brother isn’t far behind with Switzerland in tow. "That's the last of them," he breathes out as he lays the nation down by the others.

"Seven," Iceland blankly stares at the Norwegian. "How come your spell didn't hold more than seven of them? You told us it was solid."

Norway scowls. "I thought it was safe since Romania wasn't there but England must have found a loophole."

"You're lucky that these are the seven we got. Imagine if we'd have gotten some of the weaker ones," Iceland makes a face. "Then you'd be in deep shit, brother"

"Yeah, yeah. Now shut up and help me get them out the window," Norway grumbles.

"Be patient, brother. The van isn't here yet." The Icelander gives a sweet smile that makes Norway shudder.

"We can still get them down."

Iceland frowns. "Didn't you hear me? The others haven't arrived yet so there's nothing but the cold hard ground down there to catch them."

Norway's eyes sparkle as a ghost of a smile appears on his pale face. "Exactly."

Iceland blinks before breaking out into a grin. "Oh, I like the way you think, brother."

The two of them move over to the pile of nations and hoist Netherlands up onto the windowsill. They give each other childlike grins as they get ready to push him over. At the count of three, the nation disappears over the sill. Norway gives out a giddy laugh. "Let's do another." 

Iceland nods with a smile as Norway grabs hold of Turkey and starts dragging him over with excitement. However, the sound of a car approaching makes them drop the nation with disappointment.

"Darnit," Norway scowls. “Just one more. Is that too much to ask?”

Iceland looks at the people on the floor for a split second before frowning. "I'm not going to be the one explaining what the Netherlands is doing down there. Finland will not be happy if he knows we pushed him."

"Hey, I'm not doing it."

"It was your idea. You deal with it"

Norway looks like he is about to argue but the sound of an angry Fin makes him shut his mouth.

"Why the hell is Netherlands hanging from a bush?" Finland shouts with irritation.  
Norway and Iceland give each other bewildered looks. He hadn't hit the ground?  
Iceland appears in the window. "He's not dead?" he shouts back.

Finland stands by the white van they had arrived in with one of his rifles slung over his back. Sweden and Denmark are working on towing the Dutchman from the bushes under the window. Finland raises an eyebrow at the Icelander's question. "Is he supposed to be dead?"

Norway appears at his brothe‘s side. "Not really, no. He just fell down, so we assumed he had died as he hit the ground."

Denmark gives out a loud snicker. "Oh, yes. I see how an unconscious person managed to fall out a window," he says sarcastically.

Sweden analyzes the house with critical eyes. "You guys are on the second floor. I doubt he would have died from that distance. Maybe he'd break an arm or two. A few ribs. But he wouldn't die."

"You ready to test that theory, Sve?" Iceland says, irritation dripping from every word.

"No time, dudes. We need to get home soon, or else," Denmark shouts with way too much enthusiasm.

Norway checks his phone to see the time and his eyes widen a bit. "I see. Well, we throw and you catch. Got it?"

"Roger that."

Without warning a dark skinned nation lands in the bushes in front of the duo. Sweden takes a step back in surprise before rushing to the Turk to balance him before he falls to the ground. "Hey!" He shouts up in anger. "We weren't ready."

Iceland's head appears above them with a big grin. "You snooze, you lose."

Sweden shakes his head in annoyance. "Just… give us a heads up before you throw them to the gr- HEY! What did I just tell you?"

Denmark falls to the ground laughing as Sweden pushes Prussia off his back. Finland just shakes his head with the tiniest smile.

Iceland's head appears again, now snickering. "Oops, he just, kinda, fell."

"Well, make sure they don't!" Sweden roars.

The Icelander chuckles. "Yes, sir."

As the silver haired teen disappears back inside, Denmark stands from the ground and positions himself right under the window, giving Sweden the motion to join him. The Swede grumbles but pushes himself up from the ground and moves towards the Dane. Finland moves from the van and goes to hoist Prussia into the back of the car.

"You ready?" Iceland asks from above.

Denmark gives him two thumbs up and a few seconds later the two Scandinavians hold Romano in their arms. They pass the Italian over to Finland and get ready for the next one. One by one they catch the nations and ferry them to the van. Sweden keeps a mental note. Germany. Switzerland. And then…

"Norway?"

The Norwegian smiles up to his two friends as they hold him in confusion, before they drop him to the ground with disgust.

"Please, don't ever smile like that again," Denmark says, pretending to puke into the nearest bush.

Finland comes from the van with a wary look. "You're making Iceland get the rest down alone?"

"Nope!" Iceland lands on the ground with a thump, rolling to soften fall. He stands up and dusts his black shirt off with a dramatic pause. "There are no more."

Finland blinks. "Excuse me?"

Iceland goes up to his brother and wraps his arm around his shoulders. "Tell them, Nor"

Norway hisses at his brother, who just chuckles lightly before speaking on his behalf. "He failed the spell. Almost all of them got out."

Denmark chokes, eyes wide and mouth agape. “What?”

"You heard me."

"So," Sweden steps up behind the two brothers with a dark expression. "We've got over half of Europe, strolling around somewhere on the loose?"

"Norway, why didn't you tell us?" Denmark growls, looking around the backyard with guarding eyes. "They could be here right now, backing us into a corner as we speak."

"Don't worry about that." Norway grumbles. "I don't know how the hell they got out but they had to fight their way out of a burning building after having been stuck in a meeting room for at least a whole day. And the last time I checked there was no food in there so they'd be dehydrated and hungry. They'll crawl into a hole and rest up before they make their next move."

Finland frowns grimly. "Norway, you're putting us into a hard position. First (Y/n) and now this? What are we supposed to make of this!"

"Ja, it looks like you're working against us rather than with us," Denmark agrees.

"I know what we should do," Iceland says with a mischievous smile. "We should leave him here for the other nations to take."

Sweden smirks. "Let them do the punishment for us."

Norway frowns. "You're not being serious." He scans the faces of his friends, searching for the bluff. But he doesn’t see it. His eyes darken as his gaze rests on his brother‘s smirking face. This was his plan all along. Norway tries a new tactic. 

"You don't know what will happen if we don't get back in time. You don't seriously want him to get out!"

"What better way to know than to let a traitor and a failure test it out for us," Iceland says sweetly. "We can just sit back and write down the results from the comfort of our homes."

"Iceland, you traitor! I thought you were on my side." Norway hisses in anger.

"I'm on no one's side but my own." The teen says with little interest.

"But I'm your brother!“

"Ice is not the problem here," Finland says through clenched teeth. "Nor, I'm sorry. But you're out." Finland signals to Sweden who wastes no time and whacks the Norwegian in the head before he can protest. Norway collapses to the ground and does not get back up.

Finland sighes. "I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this."

"He needs to learn his place," Denmark says sternly. "You made the right call."

"He was right though," Sweden comments. "We don't really know what will happen. This is a risky move."

"Don't worry too much about it." Iceland yawns. "We'll get him back before anything major happens. When he gets home then he'll understand that he's a part of a team and won't go making selfish decisions."

Sweden huffs. "Hopefully. We do need him, you all realize that."

Finland fixes his eyes to the unconscious Norwegian on the ground in thought before shaking his head. He turns around and moves back to the van. "Let's go."

The other three follow and soon the van is backing out of the garden and onto the streets, leaving the Norwegian behind.

Denmark watches the scenery out the window with a gleam. "Watch out, (Y/n). Wherever you are. We're coming for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts <3 Comments are very appreciated.


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